Jammu: BJP MLAs on Wednesday held a protest dharna outside the House over the rejection of their adjournment motion to discuss the pressing issues of regularisation of daily-wagers and employment opportunities for youth in Jammu and Kashmir.
As the ruckus continued for the third consecutive day by the treasury benches including the Congress and Independent members, BJP legislators led by Sham Lal Sharma drew the attention of Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather towards their adjournment motion moved by MLA Balwant Singh Mankotia. It sought a discussion on the regularisation of daily-wagers and the growing unemployment problem.
When Speaker Rather rejected the adjournment motion, saying the issue must be fresh, the BJP members protested and trooped into the well of the House. They raised slogans like “discuss daily-wagers’ regularisation and unemployment” and sat on a dharna.
As the Speaker adjourned the House for three hours, all BJP MLAs led by Leader of Opposition (LoP) Sunil Sharma sat on a protest dharna outside the Assembly entrance.
They shouted slogans such as “Dramabazi bandh karo, daily wagers par discussion karo”.
The BJP legislators alleged that the ruling coalition was avoiding discussions on public issues and trying to monopolise the Assembly’s agenda. The session witnessed heated exchanges as both sides defended their positions.
“Today, our senior leader Balwant Singh Mankotia submitted an adjournment motion to the Speaker of the Assembly to enable a debate on two major issues — first, the regularisation of daily wagers and second, unemployment in J&K,” LoP Sharma told reporters.
He said the motion was rejected by the Speaker with a ruling.
“Even on the third day, the National Conference (NC)-Congress government does not want the Assembly to function. The purpose for which we have been elected — to represent people’s aspirations, demands and issues like bills and motions — is being continuously ignored, as the treasury benches are creating disruptions,” he added.
Sharma lashed out at the Omar Abdullah-led government and alleged that it had failed to address the concerns of the daily wagers.
“Among the various issues, the biggest is the regularisation of the daily-wagers, which the National Conference government and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had promised to fulfill. But they do not want discussions on them,” Sharma said.
The BJP’s demands that daily-wagers be regularised and employment avenues be debated in the House so that the government can respond on the measures it is taking to address these issues, he said.
“Instead, the government is running away from the discussion to avoid accountability. To prevent such debates, members are deliberately creating chaos in the House,” the LoP said.
He said no budgetary provision has been made for these promises. “Omar Abdullah made big promises about eliminating unemployment, claiming they would provide 5,00,000 jobs. That would mean 50,000 jobs in six months. But nothing was delivered,” Sharma said.
Taking a dig at the government, the BJP leader said, “Instead, the Omar Abdullah government appointed a relative of a National Conference leader as a consultant in the Tourism Department through the backdoor. This is what is being done for daily wagers and unemployed youth of J&K.”
He criticised the NC members accusing them of paralysing the Assembly for three days. “The treasury benches are deliberately not allowing the House to function. This is a fixed match,” he said.
Levelling serious allegations against NC leaders, he said they are trying to shield those involved in land-grabbing cases in the garb of Waqf law. The demography of Jammu has been changed by a particular community by encroaching massive lands under the patronage of governments, he alleged.
“We congratulate the Speaker for upholding the integrity of the House and adhering to the law by rejecting this proposal so that the Waqf Bill could be discussed,” he said.
He said the Budget Session is the only opportunity to highlight and resolve the concerns of MLAs and the public but even this is being squandered.
“Since March 3, when this session began, BJP members have been trying to raise the people’s issues in the Assembly but the government is evading accountability and avoiding all discussions on the promises made to the public,” LoP Sharma said.
